A Time for Letting Go
by JillyMcBop
Summary: My "version" of what happens to Bud, Sam and Peter. Set chronologically at the end of Mind Games, pre-Season 3, rated for brief violence and angst.
1. Chapter 1

Peter glanced at his watch, a frown of concern etched on his face. Amidst the hubbub of Jeannie's baby shower he was thinking of only one thing: Where was Megan?

He felt slightly uneasy about the fact that Wilson Polley was now roaming free somewhere out there. Free to kill another helpless victim and rip out their brain in his trademark fashion.

Across the room from Peter, Kate also glanced at her watch. She and Peter had arrived together, and Megan said that she would meet her there. That was a good ten minutes ago, and Megan always kept her word. What was holding her up?

Peter sidled over to Sam, who had just finished a conversation with another shower guest.

"I'm going to the office, to see what's holding Megan up," he said quietly, not wishing to attract Bud or Jeannie's attention. He didn't want anything to spoil their evening.

Sam stole a quick glance around the room.

"She's still not here, huh?" Peter shook his head, glancing at the doorway, wishing that she would just walk through the door and save him from worrying any longer.

"Nope."

"Hmm. I hope she gets here soon; Jeannie's going to start opening the gifts in a couple of minutes."

Peter slipped past some of the chatting guests and out the door. He punched Megan's number into his phone and held it to his ear. It went straight to her answering machine. Peter sighed. _The one time she doesn't pick up her phone…_

* * *

When she came to after Wilson Polley had knocked her unconscious, Megan found herself tied to a chair, unable to move. After telling Polley that she wouldn't beg for his mercy, he duct-taped her mouth closed so she couldn't even cry out for help. He then revealed his plan to rip out her brain- while she was still alive. Megan couldn't resist as he grabbed her by the hair, pulled her head back and began to slide the long, gold-colored hook toward her right nostril. Just then, the ding of the elevator caused Wilson Polley to stop what he was about to do and look up. He then hid himself, and positioned Megan against her desk in such a way that she would be completely visible from the doorway.

Peter walked out of the elevator and glanced around. Everything was quiet. He walked toward Megan's office, and after he saw that she was tied to a chair and gagged, he pulled out his pistol and held it at the ready.

Megan wished that she could have cried out to warn Peter that Polley was waiting to attack him from just inside the door. Peter and Wilson fought in a life-and-death struggle, shoving each other through windows, bashing each other against chairs and tables and grappling each other with their hands. Megan was able to tip herself over and use broken pieces of glass from the shattered coffee table to slice through the duct-tape wrapped tightly around her wrists. Her hands felt slippery with blood from lacerations caused by the sharp glass slivers.

After getting herself free, Megan snatched up Peter's pistol, which Wilson Polley had knocked from his hand when he first entered the room. She hurried out onto the balcony, where Polley was striking Peter with vicious blows to the abdomen. She raised the pistol, leveled it at Wilson's shoulder, and fired. Her aim was true. Megan tossed the pistol aside, and Peter seized the opportunity to throw Wilson Polley off the edge of the balcony. Gasping, he watched him fall for a second, and then turned around, stiffening with pain. Megan's heart skipped a beat and she realized in horror that the Polley's golden hook was embedded in Peter's abdomen, and a dark red stain was spreading around it quickly. He collapsed to the balcony floor, and Megan cradled his head in her lap and did what she could to comfort him.

"Peter…"

He slipped into unconsciousness and went limp in her arms. Reaching into his pocket, she pulled out his cell phone and called 911 in a halting voice. About a minute later, she heard the sound of the ambulance. Megan knew in her head, based on all she knew from her experience as a doctor that Peter was beyond saving, but her heart refused to believe it.

"Peter, stay with me… come on…"

[To Be Continued]


	2. Chapter 2

The last few days had felt so surreal, and Megan wished that she could simply wake up to a better life; the one where Peter walked into the office every day, helped her sort through tangled emotions, and general helped her remember to be human, and not a rigid working machine.

She'd been so cold and so loveless for so long that, until she met Peter, she had almost forgotten how to relate to people that cared. She'd forgotten how to care about other people's pain.

_And now he's dead… and I'll never be able to tell him everything that he meant to me._

As though to emphasize that forlorn thought, the sun went behind a cloud, leaving Megan, and Peter's tombstone, in the deepening afternoon shade. Her tears were already spent, but her entire body seemed to ache with sorrow. It had been two days since Peter's death, and the pain had only increased as time went on. As soon as the doctor told her that he was gone, every wonderful memory of the things they had done together, talked about together, seen together, seemed to flash before her eyes. But all of that was over now. She knew that her life would never be the same again without him.

The rest of the funeral guests had already left; Peter's sisters, leaning on each other for comfort and support… his parents, clasping hands tightly and wiping away their tears… And then there was the team, who had all been so close to Peter.

Kate placed a gentle hand on Megan's shoulder before slowly walking silently out of the graveyard. Every appropriate word she could think of to comfort her had already been spoken, and there was nothing left to do but let time begin to heal the wounds in the hearts of all that had been affected by his death.

Ethan and Curtis were both trying to be brave for Lacey's sake. Ethan had his arms crossed, and he stared at the ground, shaking his head slowly. Dani's death was still fresh on his mind, and he and the rest of the team had hardly had enough time to reset between then and now. Curtis could hardly believe that Peter was really dead. He placed a comforting hand on Lacey's shoulder, knowing that she had the burden of helping her mother cope with her grief. She tried to smile, but couldn't. She hadn't known Peter all that well, but she was still just as affected as the rest of the team. Peter had been a good friend to her, and this was the first time that someone so close to her had died. The three of them stood at the cemetery gate, watching Megan in silence.

Bud gave a heavy sigh, and then strode back to his vehicle, where Sam was already waiting, leaning her back against the car with her arms folded, staring at the ground. Bud had convinced Jeannie to stay home, feeling that the emotional stress would be too much for her, especially with her being so wrung out anyway. When Bud approached, Sam looked up, and without a word, got into the passenger seat. He got in on the driver's side, and sat quietly for a moment before putting in the key.

They were both silent until they pulled into Sam's apartment parking lot. After parking, Bud shut off the car.

"See you Monday?" he asked quietly.

"Nope."  
The detective frowned, and glanced over at his partner quizzically.

"Why not?"

Sam sighed reluctantly, and turned her face toward the window before speaking.

"I'm moving out of PA."

Bud did a double-take. This news was like getting a punch in the stomach, and his reply had a slightly bitter edge.

"Why didn't I hear about this sooner? Why right now? I guess I'm supposed to find a new partner by Monday, right?"

"If I could've told you sooner I would've, okay? Besides the COP* you're the first to know, anyways." Bud sighed ruefully.

"Sorry. But please tell me you're joking?"

Sam shook her head, and turned to face Bud.

"Geez, you think I'd make this up? Of course I'm not."

"Where are you going, and why? Does this have anything to do with the two new detectives coming in? You don't have to be transferred, you know." Sam nodded and blinked few times.

"Yeah, I know. I'm not being transferred. A friend of mine's started up this program for troubled youth out in Baltimore, to try and help them get their lives on the right track. She asked me if I could join up with the organization, and help teach one of the classes on the effects of drugs on crime rates, and that kind of thing. It's right up my alley, so I said yes. It was a really, really tough decision, I can assure you."

Sam bit her lip, and stared down at the floor of the car. Bud swallowed, and then spoke. His voice was husky.

"That's… a really great thing you want to do. But you'll come back to visit the baby right? I mean, you did say you had my back."

Sam smiled, and brushed a hand across her left eye.

"Of course I will, Papa Morris."


	3. Chapter 3

On Monday, the everyday work routine continued at the ME's office. The atmosphere was definitely more subdued, even among the staff members that hadn't even known Peter at all.

Kate had tried to convince Megan to stay home and rest, mentally, emotionally and physically from the trauma she had been through. Kate herself was trying to deal with it all too, of course. But her high-profile position forced her to push through the pain of Peter's death and keep a level head.

She was surprised to see Megan walk numbly out of the elevator and head towards her office, dressed for work as usual. Kate sighed and shook her head.

_I can't let her do this to herself._

"Megan... you really shouldn't be here. You can't do this to yourself."

"Do what?"

Both women stopped and studied each other for a moment. Kate saw the pain, heartache and sleepless nights in Megan's eyes. But what concerned her the most was that she was trying to pretend that everything was okay when it wasn't.

Megan saw concern, exhaustion and exhaustion in Kate's eyes. She wished that she would simply let her cope in her own way.

"Kate… you just have to let me do this my way." Megan sighed, and shrugged her shoulders helplessly.

"I'm not trying to pretend that everything's okay…"At this, Megan covered her face with both hands and began to sob. Tears sprang to Kate's eyes and she put her arm around Megan, guiding her to a chair in her office. Closing the door, she pulled a chair up next to her and held her close. The two women shared a moment of silent grief.

After getting ahold of herself, Kate brushed away her tears and cleared her throat.

"You should go home. And I mean it. Come back when you're ready and not any sooner, okay? You need to take care of yourself."

Megan nodded, and wiped her eyes with her fingers.

_That's just what Peter would have said._

Taking a deep breath, Megan rose from her chair and headed toward the door, brushing the damp hair from her face as she went. She hadn't slept since the night of Peter's death, and her head was throbbing from over-tiredness. She glanced back at Kate, who was studying the floor pensively.

"I'm going now," she stated shakily.

"Thank you… for trying to help me."

Kate looked up and nodded, know that there was no more she could say. Only time could heal the wounds that Peter's death had inflicted upon of his friends.

It broke Kate's heart to see Ethan trying to hold back tears every now and then. He and Curtis had both come into work that morning looking despondent, and their expressions hadn't changed since. They went about their work silently. For a good half-hour, Kate just sat at her desk chair, staring out at the skyscrapers outside.

_At least we still have each other._

_[Will update after 10 reviews. Thanks for reading.]_


	4. Chapter 4

_I can hardly believe this. I mean, it feels like Dani just died… and like that wasn't bad enough now Peter's gone, too. This is totally nuts. I keep expecting Megan to bound through the door with some weird thing for me to test, with Peter right there too. I can't believe he's really dead. I mean, it just seems like it's not possible. _

Sighing, Ethan pushed his chair back from the lab desk with one hand and, without looking, carelessly dropped a glass slide down with the other. It missed the desk surface and shattered on the floor. Ethan sat up straight, his eyes big as saucers, and glanced down at the shattered fragments. Curtis was across the room at the lab computer and whipped around when he heard the tinkling sound of the slide breaking.

"What did you jus' do?"

"I, I dropped the slide, it just slipped out of my hands, I didn't mean to do it. I'll get a broom and clean it up, okay?" Ethan got up and carefully stepped around the glass. Curtis sighed and shook his head.

"Listen; I know this ain't been easy. I know… it's hard to just do what you need to do when all you can think about is…" He blinked, and swallowed hard. "Y'know what I'm sayin'."

Ethan nodded, and stared at the floor glumly.

"Yeah."

"Don't be hard on yourself. Time's the only thing that can help any of us, anyhow. Just time." As Ethan turned towards the door, he blinked and took a deep breath.

_Time. That's it. Only time. At least Curtis is still here. Did I really just think that?_

Ethan saw Detective Baker stride out of the elevator.

"Morning, detective," he called, doing his best to sound cheerful.

"Ethan, where are Kate and Megan?" Sam demanded.

_Maybe I should just stop saying hi to people. Fine._

"Uh, Dr. Hunt left like thirty minutes ago, and I think Dr. Murphy's in her office. Wh…"

"Ethan…" said Sam, looking up into the young doctor's face pensively, "I'm going to give it to you straight. I won't be doing cases with you guys anymore."

"What?" Ethan's expression changed to one of dismay. He was not expecting this news.

"Why? I mean… why?"

"I'm moving. Not _right_ away, but real soon I'll be living in Baltimore. I'll be helping a friend with a program for helping troubled youth, mostly street kids. Anyway, I just got my plans finalized over the weekend, and I'm gonna catch a plane to Baltimore to check out my new place in about… twenty minutes. So anyway… that's partly why I need to talk to Dr. Murphy."

Ethan's mouth hung open in disbelief. He caught himself, and shook his head, throwing his hands in the air.

"Okay… that's just great. Everybody's leaving. Fine. Maybe I should quit, too. Maybe I should just… throw myself off the balcony. Maybe…"

"Ethan! Stop." The young doctor stopped at the sound of the detective's gentle but firm command, and turned to face her. She was watching him with kind eyes.

"Don't talk like that, alright? You need to be here. Understand?" Ethan nodded numbly.

"Yeah. I know."

Sam sighed and glanced around.

"Well… guess I'll tell Dr. Brumfield, and then Dr. Murphy."

Kate was shocked to hear Sam's news. She was not only a valuable asset to her cases; she was also a friend.

"Well… I'm sorry to hear that you're leaving us. But I'm sure that your friend will appreciate your work in Baltimore."

"Thanks. There's a couple of new detectives moving into the station; maybe one of them will fill my place. Well, anyhow, I need to be on my way. I've got to catch a plane in twenty minutes. I'll be in Baltimore for a couple days to look at some apartments, and I hope to be completely moved by the middle of next week or sooner. It's only two hours away from here, so it shouldn't take too long." Kate studied her desk for a few seconds before replying.

"Best of luck to you."

"Thanks, doctor."

After exchanging a polite farewell, Sam strode to the elevator. As she went, she glanced around at the ME's office for one last time. The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. Sam stepped into the elevator, leaving the ME's office, and many memories, behind.


End file.
